Guardians of Time

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The Guardians of Time, usually simply referred to as Guardians and also known as the Council of Guardians or the Six-Fold-God, were masters of reality, elemental forces embodying several aspects of the universe. They were the upper echelons of the Great Old Ones, a pantheon within a pantheon. Despite being at the pinnacle of reality, they would defer to "Greater Old Ones" in some matters. (PROSE: Divided Loyalties, The Quantum Archangel)

Physically, the Council of Guardians existed in Calabi-Yau Space. When together, they were the Six-Fold-God of the Six-Fold-Realm and were able to fashion space and time anyway they wanted. (PROSE: The Quantum Archangel) The Guardians were considered to be immortal, but were capable of being destroyed. When Turlough believed the Black Guardian destroyed, the White Guardian explained that they would always exist until the universe no longer needed them. (TV: Enlightenment)

The Guardians' natural form, like the other Old Ones, was a collective consciousness possessing neither form nor substance and existing between dimensions. (PROSE: Divided Loyalties) They could assume a form for a brief period as an "interface" with the universe, though they found it "cramped" existing in five dimensions. (AUDIO: The Destroyer of Delights) According to one account, the Black and White Guardians were initially one being, created by another Guardian before splitting upon physically entering the universe. (PROSE: Power to the People)

In terms of weaknesses, the Guardians could not reach into closed super-dimensional spaces. Because their being was linked to the Key to Time, if the Key decayed they would become affected, susceptible to energy weapons and age. (AUDIO: The Destroyer of Delights) However, while they were able to use the Key to Time, they were not left with an imprint of it as was the case with others. (PROSE: Power to the People) Additionally, for their seemingly omnipotent power, the Eighth Doctor claimed even they couldn't stop the universe from expanding. (PROSE: Dominion)

The Black and White Guardians drew strength from their respective elements, becoming stronger or weaker depending on the state of their elements in the universe. The Black Guardian was most powerful in the far future, at the end of the universe where his counterpart could not interfere. (TV: Enlightenment, AUDIO: The Destroyer of Delights, PROSE: The Well-Mannered War) He created wars to justify his existence, while the Guardian of Justice created conflict. The Toymaker explained that he was in this universe because everyone in the multiverse had dreams and that he shaped them lest they become stale. (PROSE: Divided Loyalties)

Like the other Old Ones, the Guardians originated in another universe, and Rassilon himself considered the Old Ones "sub-Guardians." He asked questions of the "Guardians of the Universe," but they refused to answer him, saying the Time Lords were superior to the rest of the universe, but there were creatures far superior to them. This taught him humility and made him respect all life. (PROSE: Divided Loyalties) The Seventh Doctor implied that the Time Lords might have made a deal with them because of this power. (PROSE: No Future) The Eternals knew of the Guardians and respected them greatly, calling them "Enlighteners" as they set up the games that kept the Eternals amused. (TV: Enlightenment)

The Guardians could act together to directly bend reality and alter space and time, as when they retroactively un-did the very existence of Prometheus for violating the Ancient Covenants. They essentially were the universe, and so they would not dare interfere; they could never be seen to act in things or be involved so as to preserve the structure of reality, (PROSE: The Quantum Archangel, TV: Mawdryn Undead) bound not by physical laws but rather codes of conduct as were the Chronovores and possibly other transcendental beings. (PROSE: No Future) They considered the Eternals and Chronovores to be their "own children." (PROSE: The Quantum Archangel)

Since they could not be seen to act directly, and because they were evenly matched and needed someone to give them an edge, the Black and White Guardians operated through agents. However, while the agents had to make their own decisions and agree to help, the Guardians created a web of choices to influence their decisions. (PROSE: The Well-Mannered War) When the White Guardian told the Black Guardian he would never destroy the light, the Black Guardian responded that others would do it for him. When he retorted that the White Guardian's powers were fading, the other responded that others would recharge them for him. (TV: Enlightenment) The Guardians themselves were used as agents by the Grace. (AUDIO: The Judgement of Isskar, The Chaos Pool)

The existence of the Celestial Toymaker as a character on Doctor Who pre-dates the introduction of the Guardian mythos. Later continuity retroactively made him a Guardian, and still later continuity made him an Elder God, where the Guardians are within the Elder Gods. Hecuba (called the Queen of Time) was introduced as his sister, so whether she was a Guardian or how she was connected to them or their role was not specified.

Until Divided Loyalties and The Quantum Archangel, reference to the Guardians only consisted of Black and White, and to date, they are the only Guardians to be seen, depending on what the Celestial Toymaker really is.